Education
UNILORIN Students Lament ‘Outrageous’ Fee Hike As School Secretly Uploads 2025/2026 Tuition, Charges Up To ₦406,888
Findings revealed that several departments within the institution have raised their tuition fees by between ₦70,000 and ₦150,000, depending on the course of study.
Students of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) in Kwara State have expressed concern over what they describe as an “unjustifiable and outrageous” increase in tuition fees for the 2025/2026 academic session.
The students who spoke to SaharaReporters accused the school’s management of exacerbating their suffering amid Nigeria’s economic crisis and the continued failure of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to improve living conditions for citizens.
Findings by SaharaReporters revealed that several departments within the institution have raised their tuition fees by between ₦70,000 and ₦150,000, depending on the course of study.
The increment, which students said came without consultation or explanation, has sparked widespread anger on campus, especially among those struggling to survive on meagre allowances from their parents or part-time jobs.
A student of Criminology and Security Studies, who spoke to SaharaReporters anonymously, said the new charges were “shocking and inconsiderate.”
“Last year we paid about ₦96,000, but this year our increment is more than ₦70,000,” the student said.
“It varies depending on the department. I’m studying Criminology and Security Studies, and the new fee is almost double what we paid last year.”
According to multiple students, the school management quietly uploaded the new fee structure to the university’s payment portal without any formal announcement.
Another student lamented the school’s “drastic and unfair decisions” that continue to make life unbearable for undergraduates.
“Over the years, there have been drastic decisions that have not favoured students. Here we are again with another increase in school fees for no reason being stated,” the student said.
“This is unfair to us. Imagine students paying ₦279,000 to study Agriculture. You have no fear of God who owns all souls. Is this how this will continue?”
Students Call Fee Hike “Inconsiderate”
For many, the timing of the increment could not be worse. With Nigeria’s inflation rate at a record high, the prices of food, transportation, and accommodation have more than doubled in the last year.
Limited Timeframe to Pay Fees
Parents and guardians are struggling to keep up, while most students rely on small stipends or low-paying jobs to sustain themselves.
“The funniest part is that the portal will soon be closed. Just two weeks’ deadline,” another student told SaharaReporters.
“We have just 11 days to pay before late registration starts from October 11 to 17. How do they expect people to raise that kind of money in this economy?”
Findings by SaharaReporters show that the new tuition structure varies by department. For example, students in the Department of History and International Relations will now pay approximately ₦156,000 per session, while students in the Department of Agriculture will pay ₦279,000.
Foreign students, meanwhile, have seen their tuition hiked to ₦1.2 million per session.
Some students accused the university of “profiting off poverty” and betraying its reputation as one of the most accessible public institutions in Nigeria.
“The management doesn’t care about our realities. How do they expect a student whose parents are civil servants earning ₦70,000 monthly to pay ₦200,000 suddenly?” asked a 300-level student of Education.
“Even private universities don’t increase school fees without due communication. UNILORIN has become a money-making venture, not a centre of learning,” the student added.
Many students who spoke to SaharaReporters said the school’s decision reflects a broader crisis in Nigeria’s public education system, where universities are increasingly underfunded, leaving management to shift the financial burden onto students.
“This is not just a UNILORIN issue,” said a final-year student. “All federal universities are quietly hiking fees because the government has abandoned education. However, we are the ones who suffer for it. They talk about youth empowerment while making it impossible for us to go to school.”
“And this has been the pattern since they introduced this NELFUND loan stuff. Instead of funding these universities, the government allows management to increase the fees arbitrarily, as they believe most of us will use the NELFUND to pay.
“This is not the true situation; not all the students can benefit from the NELFUND. We have many whose applications were rejected. Where do you want them to get the money to pay the N279,000 as tuition fees? Even those whose applications were accepted, the money will not be disbursed within the time of payment.”
According to tuition data obtained by SaharaReporters from students and internal sources, the new fee structure for the 2025/2026 academic session shows steep and uneven increases across nearly all faculties.
Agriculture students will now pay ₦278,888 per session, while those studying Computer Science are expected to pay ₦263,388. Students in the Faculty of Biochemistry are to pay ₦252,000, while Food Science majors are billed ₦284,888.
The situation is even worse for medical students, with those in Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) paying approximately ₦389,000 per session, and Pharmacy students charged ₦406,888 per session.
These figures place the federal university’s tuition rates close to those of some private universities in Nigeria.
Further details reveal that students in Physiotherapy and Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) will pay ₦326,084 each, while students in Optometry and Microbiology are both billed ₦252,388.
For students in the humanities and social sciences, the story is not much different. English Education students will pay ₦234,064, Yoruba Language ₦259,064, Political Science ₦235,000, Criminology and Security Studies ₦239,000, Marketing ₦244,064, Linguistics ₦259,064, and Health Education ₦249,388.
Even departments traditionally considered less expensive have been hit with major hikes. Plant Biology now costs ₦255,888 per session, while Geophysics students will pay ₦249,000.
-Sahara
Education
NFVCB Boss Urges Stronger Distribution Channels As Coal City Film Festival 2026 Opens In Enugu
The Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), Dr Shaibu Husseini, has called for stronger distribution frameworks within Nigeria’s film industry to ensure that locally produced content achieves global visibility.
Dr Husseini made this call while delivering the keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 2026 edition of the Coal City Film Festival, held in Enugu.
Welcoming participants to the festival, Dr Husseini expressed his personal delight at hosting the event in Enugu, his birth state, noting the city’s rich cultural heritage and longstanding contributions to Nigeria’s creative landscape.
He commended the festival organisers, particularly the Festival Director, Uche Agbo, for their resilience and commitment in sustaining the initiative.
According to him, the Coal City Film Festival has grown into a significant cultural platform and a must-attend cinematic event in South East Nigeria.
Speaking on the festival’s theme, “Local Stories, Global Screens,” Dr Husseini emphasised the importance of authenticity in storytelling. He noted that films rooted in local realities, languages, and cultural truths often resonate more strongly with global audiences.
He cited notable Nigerian productions such as “King of Boys” by Kemi Adetiba, “The Wedding Party” by Mo Abudu, “Anikulapo” by Kunle Afolayan, “Black Book” by Editi Effiong, and “Lionheart” by Genevieve Nnaji as examples of culturally grounded stories that have gained international recognition on platforms such as Netflix and at global film festivals.
While acknowledging the growth in film production across Nigeria, the NFVCB boss identified distribution as a major bottleneck in the industry. He observed that many high-quality films struggle to reach audiences both locally and internationally due to limited distribution channels.
Dr. Husseini therefore urged film festivals across the country to evolve beyond networking platforms into active marketplaces where filmmakers can secure distribution deals. He stressed that festivals must attract distributors, exhibitors, streaming platforms, and marketers to create tangible opportunities for filmmakers.
“Film festivals must become gateways to distribution where filmmakers leave not just with applause, but with real opportunities,” he said.
Reaffirming the Board’s commitment to industry development, Dr. Husseini stated that the NFVCB has continued to reposition itself as a partner in progress by engaging stakeholders, improving classification processes, and promoting a balance between creative freedom and social responsibility.
However, he raised concerns over increasing non-compliance with regulatory requirements, noting that some filmmakers bypass the Board by releasing unclassified films or operating without proper licensing.
He reiterated that all films and video works must be submitted to the NFVCB for classification and registration before being released on any platform, including digital platforms such as YouTube.
“This is a legal obligation, and the Board will not hesitate to take decisive action against defaulters,” he warned, adding that regulation is essential for protecting the industry, audiences, and national values.
Looking ahead, Dr. Husseini assured stakeholders of the Board’s continued collaboration with filmmakers and festival organisers to build a structured, sustainable, and globally competitive Nigerian film industry.
He concluded by commending the organisers of the Coal City Film Festival for their vision and contribution to Nigeria’s cultural economy, urging filmmakers to continue telling authentic stories that can resonate across global screens.
-Leadership
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a four-day ultimatum to the Federal Government, demanding the immediate implementation of a newly approved salary structure for university lecturers nationwide.
ASUU President, Christopher Piwuna, made this known on Thursday while delivering a speech at a public lecture held at Sa’adu Zungur University, Yuli Campus, in Bauchi.
“We have issued a four-day ultimatum from today to the Federal Government to begin the payment of the newly approved salary structure. Failure to comply will attract a strong response from the union,” he said.
The ASUU president noted that the demand forms part of broader efforts to improve the welfare of university lecturers and address long-standing concerns about poor remuneration, which he said has contributed to brain drain and declining standards in Nigeria’s higher education sector.
Analysts at Afrinvest West Africa have warned that Nigeria’s inflation trajectory may reverse its recent disinflation trend, with headline inflation projected to climb to about 16 per cent in the near term, driven by the ripple effects of the escalating Middle East crisis on energy and domestic prices.
This is as they stressed that without swift policy responses, rising energy costs could deepen cost-of-living pressures and erode recent gains in price stability.
However, the analysts noted that the decline was weaker than expected, largely due to a resurgence in food inflation, which rose by 3.2 percentage points year-on-year to 12.1 per cent, offsetting gains in core inflation, which declined by 1.8 percentage points to 15.9 per cent.
On a month-on-month basis, inflationary pressures showed renewed volatility, with headline inflation rising by 2.0 per cent in February, a sharp reversal from the deflationary reading of negative 2.9 per cent recorded in January.
Despite this, analysts cautioned that underlying price pressures remain elevated, particularly from persistently high food costs and structural bottlenecks across the economy.
Looking ahead, Afrinvest highlighted that developments in the Middle East pose significant upside risks to inflation. According to the firm, crude oil prices have surged to about $105 per barrel from $72.69 at the end of February, triggering a sharp increase in domestic energy costs.
The report noted that the spike has already translated into higher retail prices of petroleum products, with petrol rising to about N1,350 per litre, diesel to N1,650 per litre, and cooking gas to N1,400 per kilogram in several states.
“These increases are expected to cascade across transportation, logistics, healthcare and food prices,” the analysts said, adding that existing structural challenges such as inadequate power supply, poor road infrastructure and insecurity could further amplify inflationary pressures.
In its baseline scenario, Afrinvest projected that the pass-through effect of the energy shock could drive headline inflation up by about 150 basis points to 16.6 per cent year-on-year, while month-on-month inflation could spike to 5.2 per cent.
The firm warned that a prolonged crisis could derail the Federal Government’s target of reducing average inflation to 16.5 per cent in 2026 from 23.3 per cent recorded in 2025.
To mitigate the impact on households, Afrinvest urged the government to implement targeted interventions, including the rollout of affordable mass transit systems, healthcare subsidies for low-income earners, and the temporary suspension of tariffs and related charges on food imports and other essential commodities.
-Leadership
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